The Ordinary Doctor’s Revenge

CHAPTER 4

Ethan looked down at the soft, manicured hands resting over his knuckles. Once, that simple gesture would have melted his heart. Now, it only made him feel cold and suffocated.

He slowly pulled his hand away and rested both arms on the table.

"Impossible," Ethan said, his voice low and firm. "I didn't say anything wrong. The test results are real, which means your betrayal is real too. You've already been unfaithful to me, so there's no reason for this marriage to continue. We need to divor—"

"Ethan, I'm trying to talk to you nicely. Why are you speaking to me with that attitude?" Chloe cut him off sharply, her eyes flashing.

"Do you really have to keep pushing my limits?"

Her tone turned harsh again, that familiar, commanding presence returning—the tone of a superstar accustomed to getting unquestioning obedience.

Ethan fell silent, but deep down, a wave of bitter disappointment washed over him.

He had foolishly hoped that when confronted with the truth, Chloe might finally admit what she had done and agree to a peaceful divorce. Instead, she was simply trying to pressure him into backing down, just as she always did.

Seeing Ethan go quiet, Chloe assumed he had softened.

Her posture relaxed slightly, and her tone softened into something almost coaxing. "Ethan, I'm not trying to fight with you. I came to the hotel to stay with you last night, I had breakfast with you, and now I've even put aside my pride to talk to you properly."

She looked at him calmly, resting her hands on the table. "I've already given you enough respect. You should know when to stop. Apologize to me now, then come home with me."

“She wants me to obey everything she says and keep acting like some pitiful, obedient little dog…” He muttered under his breath.

A sudden heat flared in Ethan's chest. Holding back his rising anger, he looked her dead in the eye. "Chloe, what the hell is wrong with you? You cheated on me. You made me raise another man's daughter for fifteen years, and now you're forcing me to apologize to you?"

"That paternity test has to be wrong!" Chloe snapped.

"I believe the test results," Ethan replied coldly. "If you don't, then go verify them yourself."

"I will!" Chloe’s voice rose, sharp and accusing. "Ethan, do you even realize how badly you've messed up? You went behind my back and secretly had a paternity test done without my permission. You made that decision all on your own!"

Her expression hardened into a cold mask. "The way you've treated me is incredibly hurtful. Have you even thought about our marriage? About our daughter?"

Ethan almost laughed out loud at the sheer absurdity of it. "Thought about our marriage? For a marriage where I've been treated like an idiot? And about another man's child?"

Chloe could see that Ethan was getting increasingly agitated, his stubbornness refusing to yield to her authority. Worse, they were in a dining room, and if their voices were carried outside, the staff or other patrons might overhear them. Once a rumor started, their family scandal would spread across the media like wildfire.

She raised one hand, cutting off the argument. "This isn't the place to talk about this. Let's stop arguing. Come home with me first."

"Home?" Ethan looked up at her, a hollow, bitter smile touching his lips. "What home do I have? That's your house. It has nothing to do with me."

Ethan flatly refused. His wife had cheated on him, and the child he had invested fifteen years of fatherly love into wasn't even biologically his. As long as he still had a hint of dignity left, there was no way he would walk back into that house. He had already decided on a divorce, and at this point, he wanted nothing more than to sever all ties as quickly as possible.

"If you don't come back now, then don't ever come back!" Chloe snapped.

This time, she was genuinely furious. After spitting out those words, she snatched her bag, turned on her heel, and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

Ethan sat alone for a moment as the room fell quiet. His hangover still weighed heavily on him, with a throbbing pain behind his temples, so he left the restaurant, found a modest hotel nearby, and booked a room. He switched off his phone, pulled the curtains shut, and collapsed onto the bed.

By the time he woke up, it was eight in the evening.

After getting something simple to eat, Ethan made his way back to the bar from the night before.

He was there to return money. By piecing together what the hotel receptionist had said that morning, he had figured out that the short-haired woman who used his ID to book the room was actually the owner of the bar. She had paid both the room f*e and the deposit out of her own pocket, and Ethan couldn't bring himself to owe a stranger.

The bar's neon sign flickered above the entrance in the humid night air.

Just as Ethan reached the glass doors, a familiar laugh caught his attention.

He paused and turned toward the valet station. Michael Bennett, his longtime colleague and former classmate from medical school at Westbridge University Hospital, was stepping out of a luxury sedan.

A young, attractive woman with heavy makeup and a revealing dress had her arm wrapped tightly around Michael's, her body pressed closely against his as she whispered in his ear.

At the hospital, Michael was known as a respectable, family-oriented senior physician who frequently lectured younger residents about medical ethics and decorum.

Ethan opened his mouth to greet him, but Michael’s eyes met his for a split second. Michael’s smile instantly froze. A brief flash of panic crossed his face before he deliberately looked away, pulling the woman closer and striding past Ethan as if he were invisible.

Only then did Ethan realize why: someone in Michael's position couldn't afford to be recognized outside a place like this with a woman who clearly wasn't his wife.

Ethan watched them disappear inside, giving a faint, bitter smile.

Hypocrites everywhere.

He stood outside in the cool night air, letting the breeze touch his neck.

As he looked back toward the street, his mind returned to the chaos of the night before—the blackout, the hazy car ride, the woman dragging him into an underground garage, and waking up to Chloe claiming they had been together.

A cold shiver suddenly coursed down his spine.

If the woman who had taken him away last night had intended to frame him or set a trap, she could have easily destroyed his reputation, his medical license, and his whole career with a single move.

Was that woman really Chloe?

Something deep in Ethan's gut told him no.

And his instinct was right too.

Not far away, standing in the shadow of the entrance, a short-haired blonde woman was quietly watching him. A faint, unreadable smile touched the corner of her lips before she turned and strode casually toward the bar.